United States Senator Robert “Bob” Menendez, D- N.J., was recently indicted for federal corruption charges, again. The perennially disgraced Senator is not rounding the corner of controversy for the first time in his sordid career. In 2015 the Senator was indicted on corruption charges – surprise surprise – and in 2017 a hung jury was not able to reach a conclusion concerning his guilt. Menendez finding himself embroiled in another bout of corruption, I say he should reap what he sows. “Throw’em into prison for five years,” is what Menendez was quoted of saying about permit to carry holders who bring a firearm into the Garden State back in 2017, and he deserves the same treatment. And then some.

Menendez’s 2015 corruption indictment revolved around an alleged relationship he had with one Salomon Melgen. According to the DOJ, the charges were based on bribery allegations, whereas “Menendez allegedly accepted gifts from Melgen in exchange for using the power of his Senate office to benefit Melgen’s financial and personal interests.”

Specifically, the indictment alleges that, among other gifts, Menendez accepted flights on Melgen’s private jet, a first-class commercial flight and a flight on a chartered jet; numerous vacations at Melgen’s Caribbean villa in the Dominican Republic and at a hotel room in Paris; and $40,000 in contributions to his legal defense fund and over $750,000 in campaign contributions.  Menendez never disclosed any of the reportable gifts that he received from Melgen on his financial disclosure forms.   

According to allegations in the indictment, during this same time period, Menendez allegedly engaged in three efforts to use his Senate office and staff to advocate on behalf of Melgen’s personal and financial interests.

Other allegations also surfaced, as quoted in a court opinion concerning a motion to dismiss, stating that there was “an investigation into allegations that Senator Menendez and Dr. Melgen had had sexual relationships with underage prostitutes at Dr. Melgen’s home in the Dominican Republic.”

In the course of the search for evidence related to the health care fraud investigation, agents discovered several items that appeared to be relevant to the prostitution and PIN investigations

…

On January 30-31, 2013, Agent Sheehy and federal prosecutors prepared an affidavit for a warrant to search the segregated PIN Inventory items for evidence “related to a violation” of several public corruption and sexual offense statutes. Mot. Dismiss 15 at 12. The affidavit described the black bound notebook as a “ledger of prostitution activities” that included Senator Menendez’s name on several pages, above “a list of several women, along with, again, these women’s phone numbers, their nationalities, and their prices.”

The case basically went flat when there was a hung jury and no retrial was scheduled. Unlike what happened to some other Menendezes, talk about preferential treatment. Menendez was seemingly off the hook until the most recent corruption charges were levied against him. The indictment was filed last friday. The document specifically states that Menendez is alleged to have made deals that would have benefited the government of Egypt and an Egyptian-American businessman. A 2022 search warrant uncovered plenty of potential “fruits” from his relationships.

In or about June 2022, federal agents executed search warrants on the New Jersey home and the safe deposit box of ROBERT MENENDEZ and NADINE MENENDEZ, a/k/a “Nadine Arslanian,” the defendants. In conducting these court-authorized searches, agents found certain of the fruits of MENENDEZ’s and NADINE MENENDEZ’s corrupt bribery agreement with WAEL HANA, a/k/a “Will Hana,” JOSE URIBE, and FRED DAIBES, the defendants, including cash, gold, the luxury vehicle, and home furnishings. Over $480,000 in cash—much of it stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets, and a safe—was discovered in the home, along with over $70,000 in NADINE MENENDEZ’s safe deposit box. Some of the envelopes contained the fingerprints and/or DNA of DAIBES or his driver. Other of the envelopes were found inside jackets bearing MENENDEZ’s name and hanging in his closet, as depicted below.

As reported by my colleague Spencer Brown, over at Townhall, Menendez addressed the cash in a press conference, “In Monday’s press conference, Menendez seemed to be trying out an explanation for the nearly half-million dollars in cash found stashed around his home when he said he frequently withdraws thousands of dollars due to the ‘history of my family facing confiscation in Cuba.’” Brown further observed:

That apparent excuse, however, does not explain the gold bars, luxury vehicle, or other alleged “gifts” Menendez received for his participation in the bribery scheme described in the indictment.

It also, notably, does not explain how — as the indictment stated — some of the envelopes had “the fingerprints and/or DNA of Daibes,” another defendant in the federal corruption case Menendez allegedly used his “power and influence as a senator to protect and enrich.”

So an anti-gun New Jersey politician has a few allegations against him and some skeletons in his closets. What a revelation. All people are innocent until proven guilty, are they not? Well, I hope nothing for the best for Menendez – or he should at least be treated the same way he wants gun owners to be treated.

In 2017 it was reported that Menendez, fresh off his hung jury, perhaps emboldened as some sort of a nuevo teflon don, made statements indicating permit to carry holders that come into New Jersey with their firearms should just be locked up for five years, a provision of the Graves Act. That’s a tough bar to reach for, and yes New Jersey’s law is that draconian, but what about people who inadvertently come into New Jersey not really knowing the law, without criminal intent? We’re not sure what the real intent of all that gold and cash is in Menendez’s belongings and safe deposit boxes, but maybe he should too be spanked with the maximum penalty for these corruption charges regardless?

“Throw’em into prison for five years” is what New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez wants for any out-of-state concealed carry permit holder who enter his state with a firearm.

“People violate our law — we are a state that has decided that we are against concealed carry weapons. We have stronger gun laws. We believe we have made the states safer as that,” Menendez told The Daily Caller Thursday. “They violate our laws, then whatever is the law, and they are found guilty of it, they should pay the consequence.”

When pressed about travelers with concealed carry permits who may be detoured into his state by accident, he replied: “They know what our state’s law is. They should know what our state law is if they want to carry a concealed weapon. I don’t think that they just simply get detoured and they should think in advance when they are traveling.”

There you have it folks. That’s what Menendez thinks about people breaking laws where there are no victims. Firearm possession should not be a crime in of itself, we all know this. Firearm possession is a civil right, period.

Let’s all toss out the allegations of leaving the country to solicit for underaged prostitution – no potential victims there. Let’s all ignore the leger listing Menendez as a “client.” Let’s all ignore the corruption charges, the large sums of cash – with the DNA from his ‘donors’ on it, the gold bars, and everything that Menendez has alleged to have committed. Let’s turn a blind eye to everything he’s potentially done…

Or not. Senator Bob Menendez, you continue to be a disgrace to the Garden State. So much so that even Governor Phil Murphy, D-NJ, and a whole pile of pinkos have turned on you. What else you have actually done – besides all that – to upset the political machine, whatever it all is, you’re going to hopefully get what you deserve. You’ve clearly transgressed so bad that the swamp doesn’t want you anymore. That’s a whole other story. The story of what’s really going on?

This can be best summed up by and should be treated equivalent to the Senator’s character, or lack thereof. Menendez does not respect civil liberties and in turn he himself deserves none. Of the allegations, the slimy senator had to say, “Those behind this campaign simply cannot accept that a first generation Latin American from humble beginnings could rise to be a U.S. senator.” To quote the daddy of the great Robert “Bobby” Boucher Jr., I invite Menendez to resign and simply say, “Ciao, Roberto.”

HT to my good friend Teddy for reminding me of the disgraced senator’s 2017 remarks.